BRING ON THE RAYS

After basically giving the AL Central title to the Twins, the White Sox did it the hard way. They beat the Indians on the final day to force a game Monday against the Tigers. Win and move on to a 1 game playoff with the Twins, lose and go home for the winter. Well, they smashed the Tigers 8-2 to face the Twins tonight in a winner heads to the playoff game and loser goes home. The Sox and Twins were in a dogfight the whole night. Jim Thome hit a home run in the 7th to give the Sox a 1-0. It would be all John Danks and Company would need as they win the American League Central crown 1-0 over the Twinkies. Danks was awesome! He only gave up 2 hits the whole night.

Bring on the Rays, who were the MLB's biggest surprise team this season. The series starts in Tampa on Thursday afternoon.

Oh, by the way, those that voted on my poll that the Twins would win the division.....

''YOU CAN PUT IT ON THE BOARD....YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

White Sox- 2008 AL Central Division Champions

Hard Work Pays Off In End

As you know, Jill and I have been training for a Half Marathon for the past 3 months. This past Saturday we ran in the Fort -4 -Fitness Half Marathon in downtown Ft. Wayne with our friends Dan and Katie.

When Jill first asked me if I would want to run a Half-Marathon, which is 13.1 miles, I thought there was no way I could do something like that. I mean, I do workout a lot and run four or five days a week. I knew it was going to take a big commitment of time and energy to run something like this. I ran cross country in high school but I have never run 13.1 miles in a race!

I was a little nervous when I woke up at 5:15 a.m Saturday for the big race. My stomach was churning as I had some issues with nerves running through my body. We got to the race early, like 6:45, so we had a little time to wait and stretch out. One of the things I hated about cross country was the wait before the race. I had those feelings Saturday also.

With nearly 3,000 people there, I have never been in a race like this one. Jill and I have been training hard the past three months and our goal was to finish under 2 hours and run together. We started out kind of fast, which is easy to do with all these runners. We really had a great pace (8:12 mile) throughout the whole race. I thought for sure I would start to die out at mile 10 but I was feeling really good.

As we approached the finish line, I could sense that we ran a great time. We finished in 1 hour and 47 minutes, which is pretty good for my first mini-marathon. Dan and Katie reached their goal as well and I am very proud of them! Running a Mini-Marathon is not easy and now I can say I accomplished it!

The atmosphere on race day was awesome! There were many people on the streets clapping and cheering for us. I want to thank my wonderful parents and aunt for getting up early on Saturday to support us! With people all around, it made this race go a lot quicker for me.

Will I run another Mini? When I first committed to this I thought this would be one and done. After the way I ran this race, I’m not going to completely rule another one out at this point. Right now, I am just thankful that all four of us made it and that our hard work paid off in a big way!

My results:
Finished 268 out of 1,651 runners
Finished 218/743 male runners

Make or Break

Tonight starts a HUGE series between the Sox and the Twins. The White Sox hold a 2 1/2 game lead over the Twins. This 3-game series will determine who wins the Central and who goes home for the winter. Both teams haven't been playing that great lately. I just want to see the Sox come out and show a statement tonight. If the Sox win tonight, I think it will be over.

The Sox seem to struggle in the Metrodome, a place that is tough on opposing teams. With Ozzie Guillen in charge, I think he will have his guys ready to go! I will be watching fo sure!

The Home Stretch

After months of training for my mini-marathon, race week is finally here! This is my last week of training before the big race this Saturday. This is going to be a very light run week which will be nice heading into a huge race. Here is this week's schedule:

Monday: 4 miles
Tuesday: 3 miles
Wednesday: Off day
Thursday: 2 miles
Friday: Off day
Saturday: RACE DAY 7:30 A.M.

It has been a really challenging three months, but I am looking forward to seeing all the hard work and dedication pay off on Saturday!

Exhausted!

Wow! What a past couple of days it has been. Today I am so tired. When I woke up this morning I couldn't believe the alarm said 6:00! I don't know about you, but it seems like we all get this way from time to time. I am not just talking about being physically tired, I mean emotionally, spiritually tired. Last night I ran 11 miles, my longest run to date. As I was running last night I had a lot of thinking time to myself. First of all, the run went real well for 11 miles. I am feeling like I should be able to complete the half marathon next weekend without much problem. It was also a time to just think of all the good that God has been doing in my life lately. No matter how tired we are, I know I can go to God and he can help me get through anything! I was reminded of that today when I was driving to work and getting ready for another martahon day. I often worry about all that I have to do, things I need to check-off my list, what I have going this weekend, and many other things throughout my day. While reading my devotions this morning, I came across a good verse that made me stop and think:
"You do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away." James 4:14
I need to not worry about the things to are ahead, but to trust in God right now. God is at work all the time! It is so awesome to think that he already has our fears and worries planned out for our good.

Training Update

Only 18 days until the big race.....
I ran my longest run (10 miles) on Saturday. I felt pretty good for the most part, hurting a little at the end of it. Last night I ran 6 miles and tonight I will run 5. I am starting to feel better in my runs and am having better results. I have also noticed the days when I don't eat well, I don't run well.

Frustrating Football Weekend

Well, I was really excited about the start of the '08 college and pro football seasons. Here is what I came away with.

Notre Dame:
I really thought the Irish would put a horrible 2007 behind them and dominate a horrible San Diego State team. San Diego State was coming off an embarrassing loss to Cal Poly, a Division 2 team. The Irish looked to be better defensively and on the offense as well. The Irish played like last year. They were sloppy on offense, couldn't rush the passer, made costly turnovers, were undisciplined with several crucial penalties. I was really disappointed and so were the other thousands of Irish fans on hand. San Diego State really gave the game to the Irish. They were getting ready to open the game up when they fumbled on their own 1 yard line. It took three quarters for ND to wake up, as they finally pulled away winning 21-13. Let's just say I am not as optimistic as I was before the game on Saturday. This weekend brings a just as bad Michigan team into ND Stadium. This should be a win, but if we play like last week, it will be a loss.

Prediction: Notre Dame 17 Michigan 14

Colts:
A brand new stadium, Peyton Manning-less in the pre-season, a healthy Marvin Harrison? There were many questions about the Colts opener. One thing I did know was that they were playing a punchless Bears team. Well, let's just say, the Colts also looked horrible and lost to the bad Bears 29-13 spoiling the opener in the new Lucas Oil Stadium. I was so frustrated I went to bed early. It could be a long season for the Colts as well. I will say with Tom Brady out for the year, the Colts could still be favored to win the AFC.

Finally...Notre Dame Football Is Back

This is one of the best times of the year for me. After a dismal 2007 and a LONG off-season, the Fighting Irish open their 2008 schedule with a home game tomorrow against San Diego State. I am heading to the game with my brother. Being on campus for a game is such a neat experience. You get to converse with crazy Irish fans, take a tour of the campus, go to the bookstore to look around, eat some great food, and most of all, watch the Irish play.

We will see how the Irish do this season. I can guarantee it won't be as bad as last year. I predict eight wins on the season. GO IRISH!

Labor Day Weekend

What a great Labor Day weekend! As always, it seems like these longer weekends go by so quickly. This past weekend was no different. It was a great time of fellowship with family and friends. Here is a brief rundown of the past weekend:

Friday:
Went out to eat at Outback with my fiance and one of her friends. Always a great time at Outback. We then headed for some ice cream at Zesto's.

Saturday:
We headed to my fiance's parents for a cookout and a great time of fellowship with future in-laws, sister-n laws, my fiance's aunt and uncle, and my parents. I am so blessed to have such loving future in-laws and siblings. We had a ton of fun! Lots of great food (steak, yum yum peanut butter pie, "real" applesauce, and plenty of other great stuff). We played some sweet games and just had a great time of fellowship.

Sunday:
We went to church, had some lunch, then we headed to do some major yard work. The whole weekend was so hot. I think I lost 5 pounds working in the heat!

Monday:
We met our good friend's the Graverson's at the zoo in Fort Wayne. We ate lunch at another one of my favorite places, Red Robin. We then headed to look at tux's for the wedding. After that, we went to a few shops before finishing the day with some ice cream at Dairy Queen. It was a fun day!

Training Update:
We ran 8 on Saturday and I felt pretty good. We waited to run our 6 late last night because it was so hot out. Last night was the best run I have had in a month. The race is only 25 days away........